The Mall, SCB claim a first with payment initiative

Announcing details of the scheme yesterday, the project partners said the cashless payment initiative would drive the retail giant’s businesses to a new level and be ready for service from December.
They say the payments innovation will introduce a new dimension to the shopping experience in the “Retail 4.0 era”. Launched under the concept of “The First Cashless Retail Experience”, the collaboration is aimed at introducing digital era shoppers to a new cashless shopping experience in Thailand. 
Shoppers will be able to make payments using QR code technology at Gourmet Market, Food Hall, and Take Home outlets nationwide. The effort has also established Thailand’s first Smart Tax Kiosk to accommodate Thai and foreign customers. 
Supaluck Umpujh, chairwoman of The Mall Group, said that the cooperative effort with SCB marked an important chapter for department stores and shopping complexes in Thailand. The joint effort to develop a digital platform has been adapted to initiate a cashless shopping experience for the first time in Thailand at The Mall Group’s department stores and shopping complexes, Supaluck said. 
The Mall Group operates shopping complexes and department stores comprising The Mall, The Emporium, The Emquartier, Siam Paragon and Bluport Hua Hin.
“Currently, The Mall Group’s policy is focused on customer service which emphasises customer needs, specifically those who adopt digitisation behaviour regarding technology,” Supaluck said.
“In today’s world, technology offers people a good life. Thus, a cashless society caters to modern people’s digital lifestyles due to its convenience. Introducing technology improves payment options at The Mall Group’s shopping complexes, so it is part of our vision to enhance our business potential.

Purchase as needed 
“Based on consumer behaviour in today’s world, customers are less inclined to purchase high volume at once, unlike how it was in the past. Now, they only purchase as needed, but purchases are at a higher frequency to experience the thrill of shopping. Thus, the cashless society meets modern customers’ needs in terms of the digital experience, convenience and speed, all of which are aspects consumers seek.”
Supaluck said that technology is a key target achievement driver for retail business development in the 4.0 era, combining both evolution and revolution to achieve targets. The Mall Group is utilising technology to increase customer convenience in order to provide more effective services for target groups. Retail 4.0 development is meant to better meet customer requirements under the customer-centric concept, especially those of Generation Y and millennials, whose digital lifestyles demand clarity, convenience and speed, the chairwoman said.
"Thailand 4.0 is an economic model that uses technology for everyday convenience,” Supaluck said.
“The Mall Group has a policy that aligns with Retail 4.0 which includes not only shopping, but also communications to create a customer journey. The Mall Group aims to be the retail leader in the cashless society and to make it a global trend. The policy is supported by the government as it offers convenience, safety and is effective.
“In five years, we predict that 80 per cent of customers will use cashless payment options while 20 per cent will continue to use cash.”
SCB’s chairman of the executive committee, Vichit Suraphongchai, said SCB and The Mall Group are bringing about a major retail business transformation. Combining The Mall Group’s vision of creating a superior shopping experience and SCB’s strategy of developing digital platforms through business alliances to effectively respond to customer lifestyles, this cooperation marks yet another historic chapter for the Retail 4.0 era, Vichit said. Retail 4.0 will see fully fledged cashless shopping in Thailand for the first time, providing convenience for both Thai and foreign shoppers. 
It also demonstrates SCB’s commitment in creating a cashless society for retail businesses, which have recorded high growth amid challenges arising from changing customer behaviour, especially shopping and payment methods, which are switching to digital systems in line with technological advancements. Retail businesses are one of the seven target industries that the bank would like to bring into the cashless ecosystem using technologies to help strengthen competitiveness.
“From SCB’s vision and potential, we are confident that this cooperation will create a new shopping experience, reaffirming the bank's leadership in driving business to the First Cashless Retail Experience in the 4.0 era,” Vichit said.